The Acceleration‐Speed Profile in Professional Soccer Players:A Comparative Study According to Sex, the Sports Leveland the Playing Position
(Andrés López-Sagarra, Manuel A. Rodríguez-Pérez, Alexis Padrón-Cabo, Andrés Baena-Raya)

This study aimed to compare maximum acceleration and speed capabilities in professional soccer players, both derived from the acceleration-speed (AS) profile (theoretical maximum acceleration [A0] and speed [S0]) and direct assessment (maximum acceleration [MaxAcc] and speed [MaxSpeed]), according to both (i) sex and the sports level, and (ii) the playing position. A total of 737 professional women and men soccer players were monitored during 5–10 official matches. Data were collected using 18-Hz GPS devices to derive AS profiles and directly measure acceleration and speed output. Across all playing levels, professional men soccer players demonstrated significantly (p < 0.01) higher values than female players for A0 (d = 1.14–1.87), S0 (d = 3.88–4.82), MaxAcc (d = 0.57–1.22), and MaxSpeed (d = 2.46–2.81). Likewise, players of higher sports levels showed superior output than their lower counterparts (First Men’s Division > Second Men’s Division > Under 20 Men’s Division; p < 0.05). Position-specific analysis revealed that midfielders had significantly (p < 0.05) lower MaxSpeed values than other positions such as full-backs (d = 0.63–1.17), wide midfielders (d = 0.82), and forwards (d = 0.67–1.06) in both the First and Second Divisions. Conversely, wide midfielders in the Under 20 Men’s Division exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher A0 values than central defenders (d = 0.78). These findings highlight the importance of conducting sex- and position-specific analyses of the AS profile to effectively monitor acceleration and speed capacities across different sports levels in professional soccer.